MONDAY, SEPT. 8. LAST-MINUTE ENDORSEMENTS. As the candidates crisscrossed the state Monday trying to round up votes for tomorrow’s state primary election, several candidates announced last-minute key endorsements.

_ 2nd Republican U.S. House candidate Marilinda Garcia picked up the support of Tom Thomson, the honorary chairman of the Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire. In a statement, he and his wife said, “We are very disappointed with Gary Lambert’s negative attacks on another Republican. He has broken Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: ‘Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.’ On September 9th, we will be voting for Marilinda Garcia.”

_ 1st District Republican U.S. House candidate Dan Innis has picked up the backing of former state Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen, who wrote, “He’s a fiscal conservative and takes a thoughtful approach to policy.” Cullen called Frank Guinta a “flawed candidate” who is “one subpoena away from a full-blown scandal.”

_ 1st District Republican U.S. House candidate Frank Guinta announced he was endorsed by the National Rifle Association and received an “A” rating from the group.

LOOKING AHEAD. While Republicans are battling it out in the final hours of the primary campaign, Democrats continue looking ahead to Nov. 4. The NHDP’s coordinated campaign, “Granite State Forward,” has been phone-banking today and will continue tomorrow at various locations throughout the state.

HITTING WALT. The NHDP took one last shot at GOP candidate for governor Walt Havenstein before his primary tomorrow against Andrew Hemingway. Party chairman Raymond Buckley wrote in an open memo:

“Given Walt’s significantly larger campaign war chest and backing by the Republican establishment, anything short of an overwhelming victory for Walt on Tuesday night would deal a heavy blow to his campaign moving into the general election.

“By dumping nearly $1.5 million of his own money into his campaign, which translates into roughly 75 percent of his total so-called fundraising, Havenstein “raised” over $2 million, according to September 3rd campaign finance filings. In contrast, Hemingway raised just north of $100,000 total, less than even some state senate candidates.

That self-funding advantage enabled Havenstein to outspend Hemingway by a ratio of nearly 18-to-1. For weeks, Havenstein was the only candidate in the GOP gubernatorial primary to go up on broadcast and cable TV….

“Despite Havenstein’s rocky campaign launch and re-occurring stumbles that triggered the Tea Party base to search for an alternative, Hemingway failed to capitalize on Havenstein’s flaws enough to run a competitive campaign,” Buckley wrote.

THE “NEW ERA” CANDIDATE? Suddenly Havenstein has a slogan that is very similar to Hemingway’s.